Kiyoshi Otsuka: Heart Music
Our second-floor gallery posthumously features the expressive paintings of Kiyoshi Otsuka, a prolific artist and valued member of the downtown White Plains art community who passed away in 2020. Otsuka’s studio was located in ArtsWestchester’s building for many years, where he became a familiar face to everyone involved with our studio program. This exhibition was organized in close collaboration with his widow, Sue Koch Otsuka, to honor his legacy and share the full scope of his endearing work.
Exhibition Dates:
February 14 – April 12, 2026
Location:
ArtsWestchester
Shenkman Gallery
31 Mamaronek Ave,
White Plains, NY 10601
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Opening Reception:
Saturday Feb. 21 | 4-6 PM
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Gallery Hours:
Monday – Closed
Tuesday – Closed
Wednesday – 12–5
Thursday – 12–5
Friday – 12–5
Saturday – 12–6
Sunday – 12–5
The beauty and mystery of the natural world were an ongoing source of inspiration for Kiyoshi Otsuka’s paintings. Growing up in the mountains of Gunma, Japan, he maintained a close relationship with nature throughout his life, working at the New York Botanical Garden and tending the private Japanese garden at the Rockefeller estate Kykuit, which was based on Kyoto’s famous dry garden at Ryōan-ji Temple.
Kiyoshi Otsuka studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris and at the Art Students League of New York with Knox Martin. He developed his own visual language that incorporated gestural strokes based on Japanese calligraphy. His works are imbued with a depth of feeling that is aptly expressed even in his titles: Big Hug, Ai Suru (love), Sweetheart, Issho (together), Shinjo (one’s heart) and Heart Music. There is also a musical signature in his paintings as he explores the visual expression of sound waves.
Kiyoshi Otsuka: Heart Music was organized in close collaboration with Sue Koch Otsuka and Haruna Otsuka to honor his legacy and share the full scope of his powerful work. He loved painting in his studio at ArtsWestchester, where he was a lively member of the residency program for over 20 years.
The garden acts as a pivotal influence. The organic forms of roots and trees, shrubs and flowers, water and weather provide inspiration. Water is the elemental aspect/concept of my work. Water provides nourishment through roots, and the intensity of roots’ energy is powerful. I aim to express this power through my paintings. Water is my medium with acrylic paint, and this liquidity is often evident in some of my abstract pieces.
– K. Otsuka
Photography by Maskin Akelin